


Castles in the Sky

by Triskaidekalogue



Series: HSO 2011 ficbits [2]
Category: Homestuck, Tenkuu no Shiro Rapyuta | Laputa: Castle in the Sky
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/F, SBURB endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-20
Updated: 2011-11-20
Packaged: 2017-10-26 08:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triskaidekalogue/pseuds/Triskaidekalogue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even if it'll never be real restitution, Jade is determined to extract from the game whatever little loveliness she can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Castles in the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for HSO Bonus Round 1B.

The new universe swells into existence like a soap bubble. Kanaya can _feel_ it, small and delicate and somehow rainbow-bright; from the corner of her eye, she can see Jade beside her, stilling too in surprised fascination.

"It comes of being a Hero of Space, I suppose," Kanaya says aloud for the others' benefit. At this Rose raises an eyebrow, but she doesn't particularly feel like spending any more time on explanations when she could bask instead in that glow of hope and life (-- _Feferi_ , she thinks with a pang).

Jade comes to her rescue, falling from her trance with a happy little sigh. "It's the new universe," she says. "Us Space players can feel it -- it's nearly ready for us all. We're going to be safe, guys. It's nearly over."

"Yeah, great," Karkat jitters. "How much longer until the fucking gate opens?"

Kanaya opens her mouth to soothe her moirail, to tell him passage is only seconds away, but yet again, Jade gets there first. "Just a bit," she says. "Me and Kanaya have to do one last thing and we'll be all set!"

 _What?_

"Jade -- " Kanaya begins.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" Jade turns to Rose's brother. "Dave? The thing I asked you about? Can you give us a boost?"

"My elite disc-samurai skills are always at your service, nerd-hime desu ne. Sure this'll work?"

"I know it will," she says firmly. With a shrug, Dave pops the timetables from his captchalogue.

Aradia tilts her head. "I wasn't aware there was something else. Do you need my help as well?"

"No, Dave can handle it! I wouldn't want to bother -- "

"Yeah, you better believe I can -- "

Kanaya breaks in, with some difficulty. "Jade, what -- ?"

"It's nothing big! Just a little thing we should probably do before we leave. We'll be back before the portal opens." She slips thin brown fingers around Kanaya's wrist, presses her thumb reassuringly against Kanaya's palm. "Trust me?"

Kanaya curls her own glowing fingers around Jade's. "Of course. But -- "

Her third attempt to request clarification is forgotten when green light begins arcing and pulsing around Jade, then leaps over to catch Kanaya in its glow as well. Behind them, the timetables begin to spin. That's the last sound she hears before the dark of space descends around her.

 

For a moment, Kanaya could swear she sees lightning splintering around them, _dragon-shaped_ like feral electric cousins to Terezi's dead lusus -- and then the darkness lifts and she's staggering over a stretch of soft, wildflower-dotted grass. Jade is still holding on to Kanaya's wrist, and even though she's no steadier on her feet she manages to lurch in the opposite direction and bring the two of them to a wobbly upright. This lasts all of a second. Then Jade loses her grip and both of them end up lying in the grass.

"...where are we and why are we here," Kanaya ventures at last. There's no plant life, or natural weather, left in all the Incipisphere, but she and Jade are the only people here; it can't be a person controlling the brisk breeze that tugs at her skirt-ruffles and sends blades of impossible grass tickling against her skin.

"It's a place I saw in a story," Jade says dreamily. She raises herself up on one elbow -- "I'm sorry I didn't explain back there. I wanted it to be just us -- before I lose these powers" -- and drags her hair out of its confining hood.

Kanaya doesn't know what to say. "You... can do that? Create other new worlds?"

Her train of thought hasn't made it all the way to _Why didn't you do anything before_ yet, but it's only a matter of time and evidently Jade can already see it forming in her eyes because she shakes her head far too vehemently and says, "No. It's a story-universe, attracted by the game's narrative mass, and I couldn't even hear those before I reached god tier! I need a Time player's help just to get through and we can't _stay_. Can't you -- can't you feel Skaia just waiting to snap us back through the possibility continuum? Right back to the approximate point in spacetime we just left?"

Kanaya takes a moment to sort through the jargon. There is indeed a sort of coiled tension at the edge of her mind, when she searches for it. But she can't quite understand why Jade is looking at her like this, anxiety bright in her stare. She wants to ask why. She can't. Instead she pulls Jade back into the grass and cradles her shoulders, awkwardly.

Jade starts talking freely then, rambling in a way that Kanaya recognizes too well from her own writing. "I don't even know if I can manage more than me and someone else! I knew I wanted to come here as soon as I could hear the story-universes though, I mean how cool is this?" She waves, a motion that encompasses everything: the grass, the breeze, the tiny vivid flowers. In the distance, Kanaya sees, there are ruined buildings, their original color indistinguishable under a patina of moss and lichen. How overwhelmed she must have been before to have not noticed them.

"Everything else has been total fucking _hell_ , especially for" -- Jade hesitates and nestles closer -- "well, anyway, I'd mentioned it to Dave before. This place. It comes from a human movie that I used to watch when I was little, you know? I always thought it was the prettiest place ever. And then there was the new universe and it made me feel exactly the way I used to when I daydreamed about this place and I just wanted to see it so badly, I wanted _you_ to see it -- with me! -- before I couldn't do it anymore."

The breeze changes direction, and now Kanaya can hear the whistle of wingbeasts from somewhere beyond the crumbling walls. It's their sound that makes up her mind for her.

"You are sure this place is safe?" There's certainty in her voice even as she asks it, and Jade returns her gaze squarely with a bone-deep confidence that Kanaya remembers only from her timeline before SGRUB.

"Then" -- Kanaya pulls away and stands, holds out a hand to help Jade up -- "I want to see the story place. With you."

 

Floating islands, secret gardens -- none of these have the appeal of novelty to Kanaya at this point. But there's memory of peace and vitality settled in every weathered stone, and even though this isn't _her_ childhood, even though she's halfway to uncapping her lipstick at her first sight of the great immobile robots scattered throughout the ruins, she can understand why Jade wanted to show her this place.

It's the flowers. It's the breeze. It's the gnarled, impossible behemoth of a tree that towers over it all and gentles sunlight over the feral gardens. Then Jade takes her clambering halfway over the edge to peer downwards and explain how the roots have held the island's base intact; and it's that, too.

Kanaya knows her own expression must be a muted mirror of Jade's, and reflects that this, though no doubt unintended, would have been quite a persuasive justification all on its own.

Skaia's waiting, though. The tension at the back of her mind increases until she no longer has to search to find it. Jade must feel it too, for she whirls suddenly around to catch Kanaya in a kiss --

\-- and the world goes dark.

 

"--ing ridiculous sidequest they never mentioned before --"

Her moirail is in nervous mid-rant when they rematerialize; no portal yet, so the snapback must have overshot by only a few seconds. It seems to have maintained their positions relative to each other, though, because this time _both_ of the Derse humans have their eyebrows raised. Aradia appears to be smiling into Sollux's shoulder; Terezi snickers.

It's John's sudden happy laugh that makes Karkat turn to look, and the fretful snarl dies from his lips, to be replaced by joyfully familiar rage. "You went to all that trouble to have _sloppy interspecies makeouts?_ "

Thankfully the appearance of the portal just then preempts any further beratement, although it's obvious Karkat still wants to vent his relief. They go wordlessly, one by one, swallowed into silence by the crackling spirogram.

Kanaya and Jade are the last to enter. Before Jade steps through the portal, she stops and squeezes Kanaya's hand.

"Thank you."

Kanaya smiles. "I am glad to have seen it."

Jade goes. Kanaya follows soon after, and behind them, a universe shrinks into dormancy.

**Author's Note:**

> This was very obviously written months before Act 5 concluded, ahah. Feedback appreciated; I'm not satisfied with this.


End file.
